Tuesday, August 28, 2007

So far, no turtle owner has come forward to let me know that Nemo's seemingly strange poses are normal. I don't know what goes on in his little turtle mind to choose his basking poses, but the common element of his basking ritual is to turn in 90 degree increments until he has basked all sides. Just before I took this picture, his head was straight up in what I call the periscope position for maximum "sun" exposure to his neck. I do think he's a little ham since he often looks right at the camera.

This particular pose is unusual because of the position of his front feet--outward stretching palms. See his back right leg stretched straight back? His left toes can be seen behind and to the left of his head. Must be comfy to him.

Today was a blanket basking day as opposed to a log basking day. I wonder what determines what kind of day it will be.

Nemo had his first "home alone" experience this past weekend when I unexpectedly had a two-night stay in the hospital. Poor little guy had his basking light on all night on Friday. Saturday night, Brian checked on him and had some quality bonding time. He really is enamored with Nemo. I think Nemo was mad at me when I came home for abandoning him. He perked up when I first went over to talk to him but then he turned around in a little turtle huff and crawled under his blue blanket. About an hour later, I noticed he had worked his way from under the blanket to the opposite side to peek out so he wouldn't miss any of the view.

His new diet isn't working too well yet. I did order some special turtle veggie treats. Am hoping he might actually like them. He continues to have his own mind and surprises me everyday with something adorable. Me and a reptile. I still can't believe it.

About Me

I am a 50-something woman with highly active inner child in a long-term relationship with Brian who is retired. We are both young at heart and love to laugh. We share "parenting" of box turtle Nemo, tortoise Lucy, and our formerly active two Pleo robotic pet dinosaurs. I am currently a disabled psychotherapist who loves nature, drumming, gardening, music, and pondering the universe. Turtles are a symbol of universal energy and wisdom. Fifty is the new 30...right?